
THE 


VOTER'S 

HAND-BOOK 


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THE VOTER’S 
HAND - BOOK 


Price 35 Cents 



Copyright applied for 1911 
by 

M. Fay Coughlin 


Published by 
H. S. Crocker Company 
San Francisco 


Sent by mail, postage prepaid, 38 cents 
Address M. Fay Coughlin 
Victoria Hotel 
San Francisco 




©CIA305269 





\ 

VK 

\ 





THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED 
TO THE 

ENFRANCHISED WOMEN OF CALIFORNIA 

BY 

THE AUTHOR 
WHO IS ONE OF THEM 


Read and corrected by 
Prof. Geo. E. Boke 

of the Law Department of the University of California 







TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


Page 

Definitions . 1 

Elections under the Primary Law. 3 

The Presidential Primary. 4 

Time of Holding Regular Election. 5 

Voters and Voting. 6 

Synopsis of the Government. 10 

The National Executive...• 11 

The Senate. 15 

The National Legislature.. . 15 

The House of Representatives. 17 

The Federal Judiciary.. . 19 

The State of California... 23 

The Executive Department. 23 

The State Senate....-. 24 

The Assembly . 26 

The State Judiciary.-. .. 26 

The Board of Control. 28 

The State Board of Equalization....... . . . 29 

The State Railroad Commission. 30 

The State Lunacy Commission.,. 31 

State Board of Charities and Corrections. 31 

The City and County of San Francisco. 32 

The City of Oakland. 35 

The County of Alameda. 36 

The City of Berkeley.•. 37 

The City of Los Angeles. 39 

County Government in General. 41 

The Initiative . . . .. 42 

The Referendum. 42 

The Recall . 43 

Notes from Thirteenth Census of the United States. 45 

The Declaration of Independence. 46 

Constitution of the United States. 50 






















































. 


































DEFINITIONS. 


Franchise means literally privileged liberty, freedom 
from subjection, hence it means in common use 
two things. 

(1) A privilege arising from the grant of a 

government, as a corporate franchise. 

(2) The privilege of voting at public elec¬ 

tions, that is, the right of suffrage. 

Suffrage comes from the Latin suffragiuin, a vot¬ 
ing tablet, a ballot, hence it means the right of 
voting. 

Caucus. The word is first found in the diary of 
John Adams in 1763 . . . . “the learned cau¬ 
cus club meets at the garret of Tom Davis . . . .” 
It was a political club, and the term is designedly 
mysterious, probably taken from the Greek 
“kaukos,” meaning a cup, in allusion to the con¬ 
vivial feature of the club. It means now any 
meeting of managers or interested persons for 
the purpose of deciding on a line of policy to be 
brought before a larger meeting, as a convention. 
To meet in caucus, therefore, is to come together 
and confer. 

Quorum literally “of whom,’’ means the number 
of persons of any constituted body of persons 
whose participation in a meeting is required to 
render its proceedings valid, or to enable it to 
transact business legally. 

Municipality, a town or city possessed of corporate 
privileges of local self-government. 


9 


The Voter’s Hand-Book 


Municipal, pertaining to the government of a city 
or town. 

A Majority Vote means a vote of more than half 
of all the votes cast. Thus if 100 people voted, 
and one of the candidates received 51 votes, 
he would be said to have a majority vote. In that 
case he would be elected at the primary and would 
not have to compete again at the elections after 
the primary. 

A Plurality Vote means when a candidate has more 
votes than any other candidate, but not a 
majority of all. Thus if 100 votes were cast, 
and A got 40, B got 30, and C 25, and D got 5, A 
would have a plurality vote. It takes a majority 
vote to elect at the Primary election; but only a 
plurality at the elections afterward. 

An Ordinance is a municipal (that is a city) law,— 
passed by the Supervisors, or whatever the legis¬ 
lative body of the city is. 

Federal, as applied here to government, laws, or 
the judiciary, means the central government when 
it acts directly on all citizens and not merely on 
local events. A Federal government is one in 
which the Federal authority is above that of any 
of the States within the sphere of the Federal 
action. 

Ex-officio means “by virtue of his office”; i. e., with¬ 
out being elected to it. 



The Primaries 


3 


THE PRIMARY LAW. 

The Primary Act, to regulate Primary Elections, 
and to provide the method for a public expression 
of choice for United States Senator (see page 7 of 
Election Laws, 1911) was passed April 7, 1911. It 
provides that all candidates for public office shall be 
nominated (1) by direct vote at the primary elec¬ 
tions; or (2) by nominating petitions, signed and 
filed as provided by law. 

A Primary Election is really a nominating election; 
the two highest candidates for office are selected from 
among those voted for, and only these two are allowed 
to compete at the regular election ensuing. But any 
candidate getting a majority vote (that is a vote equal 
to more than half of all the votes cast) is elected then, 
and need not compete again at the second election. 

The September Primary Election shall be held at 
the legally designated polling places at each precinct 
of this State on the first Tuesday in September for 
the nomination of all candidates to be voted at the 
ensuing November election. The day is a legal 
holiday, and any voter is entitled to absent himself or 
herself from any service or employment for two con¬ 
secutive hours without being liable to any penalty or 
deduction from his or her usual salary or wages on 
account of such absence. The first September Pri¬ 
mary Election is 1912, and biennially thereafter. 

Any Primary Election other than a September 
Primary Election, shall be held on Tuesday three 
weeks next preceding the election for which such 
Primary Election is held. 


The 

September 

Primary 


Any 

Primary 



4 


The Voter’s Hand-Book 


The Presi¬ 
dential 
Primary 


Governor Johnson has called a special session of 
the legislature for November 27, to consider among 
other laws one for a Presidential Primary. This 
would be a law, not for the direct election of the 
President by the people, because this must be done, 
according to the Federal constitution, through 
the electors of the Electoral College, but for a 
popular election of the California delegates for 
the National Nominating Conventions which are 
held in mid-summer next year. The nomination 
of the Presidential candidate is almost as im¬ 
portant as the election for President in Novem¬ 
ber, since it narrows down the choice to one man 
for each Party, and it is thought that something 
more nearly the real choice of the people might be 
insured by having the nominations by popular elec¬ 
tion rather than by State delegates elected by County 
Conventions as heretofore. The following States 
will hold Presidential Primary Elections next 
Spring: In North Dakota on March 19; in Wiscon¬ 
sin on April 2; in Nebraska on April 17; in Oregon 
on April 19, and in New Jersey on May 28. If the 
State Legislature passes this law, California will, 
therefore, be the sixth State to adopt the Presiden¬ 
tial Primary. 



Elections 


5 


TIME OF HOLDING REGULAR ELECTIONS 

Presidential primary, or nominating election, is President 
held in the spring (according as the State Legisla¬ 
ture may enact at the 1911 special session). 

Presidential election November 5, 1912. \ 

Election of United States Senator, i. e., advisory (senators 

vote of the people. I 

I Congress- 

Congressional election (in the Congressional dis-[ men 

tricts). V State 

/ Officials 

Election of Governor, State officers, Justices, State 

7 7 7 \ State 

Boards and departments. ^Senators 

Election of State Senators 

Election of Assemblymen. 

All elected at the general election throughout the 
State, which election is held on the first Tuesday 
after the first Monday of November in every even 
year, as 1910, 1912, etc. And the Primary Law ap¬ 
plies to them all. 

Municipal elections are held according to the provi- 
sions of the respective city charters, e. g.: The San 
Francisco Primary Municipal election was held on 
the ]ast Tuesday of September, 1911, and will be so 
held every second year thereafter, 1913, 1915, etc. 

The second or General Municipal election follows, 
on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 
not less than forty days after the Primary. 


I Assembly- 
Imen 



6 


The Voter's Hand-Book 


Quali¬ 

fication 


Regis¬ 

tration 


VOTERS AND VOTING. 

Every native and naturalized citizen of the United 
States who has attained the age of 21 years may vote 
in California if long enough a resident, except 
criminals, idiots and insane persons. But a mar¬ 
ried woman takes her husband’s citizenship without 
going through any formula, as the laws of Cali¬ 
fornia now stand; therefore, an alien woman mar¬ 
ried to a native or naturalized citizen of California 
becomes also a citizen, and conversely a native 
born and bred 4 California woman loses her citizen¬ 
ship by marrying a foreigner who has not become 
naturalized, and she cannot vote any more than he 
can. To vote, citizens must have resided in the 
State one year, in the county 90 days, and must have 
registered from their precinct at least 30 days before 
a primary election. 

Voters register at the Registrar’s office, City Hall, 
in cities (and at such other places as the Board of 
Election Commissioners may appoint); and at the 
office of the County Clerk in counties. In each even 
numbered year 1910, 1912, etc., beginning with Jan¬ 
uary 1st and ending not later than 30 days before 
the Primary Election, voters must register through¬ 
out the State; and no person must register in one 
county or precinct for an election when registration 
for the same election remains uncancelled in another 
county or precinct . Aliens must have completed 
their naturalization at least 90 days before election. 
No fees may be charged for registration. 



Voting 


7 


The Polls must be opened from 6:00 a. m. to 6:00 The 
p. m. Voters may vote legally only in the precincts Polls 
in which they reside and from which they have 
registered. In California there is a law requiring all 
saloons and public bars to remain closed on election 
day from 6:00 a. m. to 6:00 p. m. (See page 3 for 
the legal two hours allowed voters.) 

The voter must write his or her name and address Voting 
(or if unable to write, being blind or crippled or 
ignorant, shall have the same written for him or her) 
on a roster of voters provided for that purpose and 
shall announce the same to one of the Ballot Clerks, 
who shall then announce the same to another one, 
and if the second Ballot Clerk finds the name on 
the register, he shall in like manner repeat the name 
and address. Then, the voter’s name being unchal¬ 
lenged, the Ballot Clerk gives the voter a ticket, and 
the clerk writes on the register opposite the name 
of the voter the number of the general ticket given 
him or her, and also the number of the municipal 
ticket given him or her when any city, city and 
county, or town office is to be elected; and the voter 
is then allowed to enter the place enclosed by the 
guarded rail. The voter retires to one of the booths 
or compartments provided, to prepare his or her 
ballot. 

In voting he or she must stamp a cross in the 
voting square after the name of every candidate for 
whom he or she intends to vote; all crosses must be 
made only with the stamp, which, with pads and ink, 
are provided in each booth. Before leaving the 



The Voter’s Hand-Book 


booth the voter must fold his or her ballot in such a 
manner that the number of the ballot and the en¬ 
dorsement on the back shall appear on the outside 
thereof, without displaying the marks on the face of 
it. Having folded his or her ballot, the voter must 
give it to the Inspector, who must announce in an 
audible tone of voice the voter’s name and the number 
of his or her ballot. The Ballot Clerk finds the same 
name or number on the register, and repeats the 
name and number, if it corresponds, • and writes 
opposite the name the word “voted.” Then the 
Inspector separates the slip containing the number 
from the ballot, deposits the ballot in the box, and 
immediately destroys such numbered slip. 

No more than one person may occupy one booth 
at a time and no one may remain in a booth more than 
ten minutes. Any voter who spoils a ballot may ask 
the Ballot Clerk for another; but he or she may 
receive only one at a time, and not more than three 
in all. (Taken from the Election Laws of California, 
1911, pages 33, 34, 35.) 

Note: Ten days before the day fixed by law for 
election the County Clerk (or Clerk or Secretary in 
the city) must begin to mail “a sample ballot” to 
registered voters, and all must have been mailed at 
least 5 whole days before the day of election, one 
sample ballot to each registered voter; and at the 
same time the County Clerk sends a card of instruc¬ 
tion for the guidance of electors in obtaining or 
marking the ballots,—also one such card of instruc¬ 
tion is posted in each booth on election day. 



SYNOPSIS 
OF THE 


GOVERNMENT 


10 


The Voter ’s Hand-Book 


The Government of the United States is triplicate 
in form, i. e., it has three great divisions, for the 
Nation, State and City; and three main departments 
in each of these divisions, the Executive, the Legisla¬ 
ture and the Judiciary. 

NATIONAL OR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 

(1) THE EXECUTIVE. —Consisting of the President and his cabinet. 

(2) THE LEGISLATURE. —Consisting of both branches of the national 

legislature; the Upper House, or Senate, and the Lower House 
or House of Representatives. 

(3) THE JUDICIARY, which is divided chiefly into 3 classes of 

Federal Courts, distributed over the U. S., and is appointive.— 

Consisting of: 1. The Supreme Court, a Chief Justice and 8 
associate justices; 2. The Circuit Courts of Appeals (there are 
nine judicial circuits in the U. S.); 3. The District Courts (of 

which there are 88 in the U. S.); and 3 other special courts in 
Washington. 

STATE GOVERNMENT. 

(1) THE EXECUTIVE. —Consisting of the Governor and the executive 

department. 

(2) THE LEGISLATURE. —Consisting of two branches of the State 

Legislature; the Upper House, or State Senate, and the Lower 
House or Assembly. 

(3) THE JUDICIARY, which is elective. —Consisting of: 1. The State 

Supreme Court, or Court of Appeal; 2. District Courts of 
Appeals (having appellate jurisdiction from Superior Courts); 
3. A Superior Court for each county of the State. The courts 
of the Justices of the Peace are not courts of record. 

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. 

(1) THE EXECUTIVE. —Consisting of the Mayor and the executive 

department. 

(2) THE CITY LEGISLATURE.— Consisting, in New York, of 2 

chambers, a Council and a Board of Aldermen; in San Francisco, 
of only a Board of Supervisors; of a Commission in many other 
cities. 

(3) THE JUDICIARY, which differs slightly in different cities, but is 

elective. —Consisting, in San Francisco, of the Superior Courts 
(of the city and county); and, of the Police Courts (for minor 
criminal cases); and the Justices of the Peace Courts (for 
minor civil cases). 



The President 


11 


THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE. 

In the summer preceding a Presidential Election, 
National Conventions are held by each party to 
nominate a candidate for the Presidency. The dele¬ 
gates in most states are chosen by party conventions 
in their several states, two for each Congressional 
District by the party convention of that district. 

California, since the 1911 Primary Law, will 
not follow the old method of conventions. Now 
the State Central Committee will issue a call to 
the county conventions to name delegates to the 
State Convention, and these so nominated delegates 
to the State Convention, in May 1912, will choose 20 
Delegates (i. e., twice as many as the State has 
electors) for the National Convention. (But if the 
Presidential Primary Law is passed, the Delegates 
will he chosen by popular election. See page 4 for 
Presidential Primary.) These great National Con¬ 
ventions—one for each party,—meet each in some 
different city during mid-summer, and there nom¬ 
inate their party Presidential and Vice-President 
candidates. After that the Nominees present 
themselves to the people in a strenuous campaign 
of public speaking, during which the policies of 
the last term are thoroughly threshed out, and 
the plan of public affairs for the ensuing Presi¬ 
dential term is declared in a formal “platform,” 
or statement of what the Nominee intends to do if 
he is elected President. All this is apt to upset 
business, because while such questions as tariff, con¬ 
trol of corporations, and of railroads, etc., which 
are the core of “big business/’ are being discussed, 


The 

National 

Executive 



12 


The Voter’s Hand-Book 


The 

National 

Executive 

(Continued) 


men with large capital to invest, hold off, and wait 
until matters are settled. But although Business 
always complains of being disturbed during a Presi¬ 
dential year, those who are competent to speak have 
pronounced the short term of the President and the 
consequent “upsetting of business’’ every four 
years as a most salutary safeguard in a democracy; 
for, since the People rule, it is good that every four 
years they should he forced to thresh out the results 
of the last administration, and to decide wdiere they 
intend to direct the forces of government during the 
ensuing term,—otherwise, they would never concern 
themselves with public policies, and would become 
the victims of their own selfish unconcern for the 
public good. “A Presidential campaign refreshes 
the sense of national duty,” and “at great crises, as 
1860 and 1864 it is a turning point in history.” 
(Bryce, Volume I, page 73.) 

The last and final step is the choosing of the Presi¬ 
dential electors as follows: On the first Monday 
after the first Tuesday of November (Nov. 5th, 1912) 
each state elects as many electors as it has representa¬ 
tives in Congress, i. e., the sum of its senators and 
congressmen, and the citizens vote for elector A or 
B according to which presidential candidate A or B 
represents, who himself has, in practice, no discretion 
but must vote for the candidate of the party whose 
elector he is. The electors of any Party Nominee 
who can secure a majority of votes become then mem¬ 
bers of the electoral college: but each state may send 
to the electoral college only the exact number of 
votes which its representation in Congress entitles 



The President 


13 


it to, and so it may happen that a state sends three 
or four democratic electors and five or six republi¬ 
cans ones, though, as a matter of fact, a state gen¬ 
erally “goes” all Republican or all Democratic. It 
can thus be easily seen why the Presidential cam¬ 
paign is more tense in states like New York or Penn¬ 
sylvania than in states like Nevada or Montana: 
New York has 41 electoral votes and Nevada but 3, 
because New York State has about 9,000,000 people; 
and Nevada not quite 100,000. When these electors 
are all chosen by popular vote in this way for the 
electoral college, the actually elected President and 
Vice-President are ipso facto known, and it is at 
once telegraphed all over the country that very 
night,—even though the actual voting of the electoral 
college takes place some weeks later, and is trans¬ 
mitted to Washington by mail later still, there to be 
unsealed and counted. 

William Howard Taft of Ohio and James C. Sher¬ 
man of New York are President and Vice-President 
of the United States; their term of office expires 
March 4, 1913. The incoming President and Vice- 
President, nominated in mid-summer and elected in 
November, take office on the 4th day of March en¬ 
suing. 

The President is the commander of the Army and 
Navy. He has the power, with the consent of the 
Senate, to make treaties, appoint ambassadors and 
Federal judges, etc.; and to direct the foreign and 
domestic policies of the country. He can veto bills 
passed by Congress, which only become laws after 


The 

National 

Executive 

(Continued) 


The 

President 



14 


The Voter’s Hand-Book 


The 

Cabinet 


lie has signed them, bnt his veto is null if Congress 
re-passes the bill by a vote of two-thirds of the 
majority of each House. His salary is $75,000 per 
annum. 

The Vice-President is merely to succeed the Presi¬ 
dent in case of the latter’s death or grave illness; he 
is ex officio President of the Senate, and has a salary 
of $12,000. 

There are nine chief ministers to the President 
who make up what is called the cabinet; they are 
appointed by the President and may be removed by 
him alone. They are summoned to the President’s 
private council and are his advisers on matters per¬ 
taining to their respective departments, as well as 
on general questions of policy. None of the cabinet 
can vote in Congress, a rule intended to prevent the 
Executive from having too much power. The most 
dignified place in the cabinet is that of Secretary of 
State, who administers the foreign policy except so 
far as that is controlled by the Senate. 

The following titles of the members of the cabinet 
are in themselves explanatory of their duties: 

Salary 

Philander C. Knox of Philadelphia, Secretary of State. .$ 8,000 


Franklin Macveagh of Illinois, Secretary of Treasury... . 12,000 

Jacob M. Dickenson of Tennessee, Secretary of War. 12,000 

George M. Wickersham of New York, Attorney General.. 12,000 
(He is legal adviser to the President) 


Frank H. Hitchcock of Massachusetts, Postmaster General 12,000 
George von R. Meyer of Massachusetts, Secretary of Navy 12,000 


James Wilson of Iowa, Secretary of Agricultural. 12,000 

Charles Nagel of Missouri, Sec ’y of Commerce and Labor 12,000 
Walter N. Fisher of Chicago, Secretary of Interior. 12,000 






The Senate 


15 


THE NATIONAL LEGISLATURE. 

Tlie two houses of the National Legislature taken 
together are called the Congress. The Senate, or 
Upper House, consists of two senators from each of 
the 48 states of the Union, irrespective of the size 
of the state: Rhode Island, the smallest state, is 
about 1/12 the size of Texas, which is the largest 
(California is the second largest state in the Union) ; 
and Nevada has about 1/90 the population of New 
York State, yet each has exactly two United States 
senators. This arrangement is in order to preserve 
the integral sovereignty of the State. The U. S. 
senators are elected by the legislatures of their re¬ 
spective states for a term of 6 years at a salary of 
$7,500 per annum. The whole body renews itself 
every 6 years, but the rotation in office is so arranged 
that 1/3 of them retire every 2 years; thus, at any 
given moment the old members are twice as numerous 
as the new ones. This plan is in order to secure 
continuity of policy. With the admission of Arizona 
and New Mexico there will be 96 senators. A quorum 
is a majority of the whole number. The senate has 
the right to go into secret session, generally to debate 
matters of foreign policy by advising on or confirm¬ 
ing the plans of the Foreign Secretary. The senate is 
an executive and judicial as well as legislative body; 
its original office is to act as a check on the hasty 
or ill digested legislation of the Lower House. The 
burning question of the Senate as a House, is its 
election by the state legislatures, which, since these 
are in most cases now controlled by the great cor- 


The 

Senate 



16 


The Voter’s Hand-Book 


porate interests, do not represent the public choice 
in their selection of senators, but rather the choice 
of the moneyed men of the community. A bill was 
introduced last session in Congress to amend the 
Constitution so as to permit the popular election of 
senators, but nothing conclusive was done. However, 
on April 7th, 1911, an Act of the Legislature of 
California was approved, whereby candidates for 
United States Senator in Congress shall be placed 
upon the official ballot at the general election, to be 
voted for like other officers and no longer by Dis¬ 
tricts. The previous election, or advisory vote, by 
districts, which was in operation only since 1909, 
was not thought to represent the popular choice. 
This vote would be only for the guidance of 
the State Legislature, because there is a provision 
of United States Constitution which demands the 
election of United States Senators by the state 
legislatures of each state, and this cannot be abolished 
without an Amendment to the Federal Constitution. 
Nevertheless, the effect of this local law will be prac¬ 
tically to insure the popular election of the two 
United States Senators from California, since the 
State Legislature will hardly disregard an advisory 
vote of the people. 

The Senate stood in January, 1910, 59 Republicans, 
33 Democrats. The Senators from California are: 

George C. Perkins.Republican.of Oakland 

Term ends March 4th, 1915. 

John D. Works.Republican...of Los Angeles 

Term ends March 4th, 1917. 







The House op Representatives 


17 


The House of Representatives, called generally, 
the House, has 391 members, chosen by popular elec¬ 
tion from each Congressional District in the country. 
Congressional Districts are marked off according to 
population, at present on the basis of one Congress¬ 
man to about 175,000 souls; hut these districts are 
rearranged every 10 years, after the Census is taken. 
A bill to provide money for the present rearrange¬ 
ment called the Reappointment Bill was introduced 
into the 62nd Congress (last year). But it did not 
pass and will be reintroduced during the coming 
year: there is much occasion for jealousy and 
intrigue, called “gerrymandering” in the carry¬ 
ing out of this measure, hence the delay. (See 
Bryce, Yol. I, page 126.) California has 8 Con¬ 
gressional Districts, hut since the census of 1910, 
her population being reported as 2,377,549—would 
entitle her to about 11, which will probably be 
awarded her next year. Members are elected for 
two years at a salary of $7,500, and their elec¬ 
tion always takes place in the even years, 1910, 1912, 
and so on. So that the election of every second 
House of Representatives coincides with that of a 
Presidential election, and Congress is thus likely 
to have, though not invariably, the same politi¬ 
cal complexion as the Administration. The office 
of the Lower House is to introduce legislation and 
to control taxation; it is supposed to express more 
directly the popular will, but as congressmen are not 
often in the House long enough to receive much 
training there, it naturally. follows that their work 
is less conclusive than that of the Senate. 


The 

House of 
Represen¬ 
tatives 




18 


The Voter ? s Hand-Book 


The 

Speaker 


Congress¬ 

men 


Tlie Speaker is elected by the House from one of 
their number; in rank, he stands next after the Vice- 
President and on a level with Justices of the Supreme 
Court. The choice of a Speaker is a political event 
of the highest significance. He guides the policy 
of the House and appoints many of the important 
committees. His salary is $12,000. 


There must be elected every two years one Repre¬ 
sentative or Congressman for each of the eight Con¬ 
gressional districts in California. They are elected 
at the general election every even year, 1910, 1912, 
etc., each in his own district by the electors of that 
district. (See map for Congressional Districts.) 


The names of the present Representatives of Cali¬ 
fornia in Congress are: 


1st Dist. 
2nd Dist. 
3rd Dist. 
4th Dist. 

5th Dist. 


6th Dist. 
7th Dist. 
8th Dist. 


John E. Raker.Democrat.of Altnras 

Wm. Kent.Republican.... of Kentfield 

Jos. R. Knowland.. .Republican... .of Alameda 

Julius Kahn.Republican... .of San Francisco 

(County of S. F.) 

E. A. Hayes.Republican... .of San Jose 

(Counties of S. F., 

San Mateo, Santa 
Clara.) 

J. C. Needham.Republican... .of Modesto 

Wm. D. Stephens.. .Republican... .of Los Angeles 
S. C. Smith.Republican. .. .of Bakersfield 











r tre/- 






















































































































































































































The Federal Judiciary 


19 


THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY. 

The Supreme Court at Washington consists of 9 
Justices at a salary of $14,500 for the 8 associate 
justices and $15,000 for the chief justice. It sits in 
the Capitol at Washington from October to June 
in every year; the presence of 6 judges is required 
to pronounce a decision. They are appointed for 
life by the President and are removed only by im¬ 
peachment,—a provision which applies to all classes 
of Federal judges and is meant to secure the inde¬ 
pendence of the judiciary. The Supreme Court is 
chiefly appellate in character and the whole Federal 
Judicial system is arranged for eliminating cases 
from court to court so that those which finally come 
before the Highest Court shall be few and important. 
Yet in addition to this appellate character, the 
Supreme Court has some original jurisdiction, as,* 
for instance, in the case of an Ambassador. Its 
appellate jurisdiction is especially in all matters 
that have to do with the interpretation of the Con¬ 
stitution, and of Federal Laws and Treaties, and 
cases relating to the authority of Federal officers. 

Circuit Courts of Appeals (established 1891) are 
entirely courts of appellate jurisdiction, and are nine 
in number. By an act of Congress March 3, 1911, 
the Circuit Courts “are abolished.” This is to take 
effect January 1st, 1912. The Circuit 'Courts of 
Appeals, which formerly were elastic in character, 
will now take on the exact geographical boundaries 
that have hitherto* belonged to the Circuit Courts. 
Each circuit of course includes several states: Cali- 


The 

Supreme 

Court 


Circuit 
Courts of 
Appeals 



20 


The Voter 's Hand-Book 


The 

District 

Courts 


fornia is in the 9th judicial circuit, which also in¬ 
cludes Nevada and Montana. These Circuit Courts 
of Appeals are for the appeal of cases which may 
be brought from the District Courts. The 29 Circuit 
Judges of the former Circuit Courts will be trans¬ 
ferred to these Appellate courts, where courts will 
be held annually. 

The District Courts are 88 in number and their 
judges receive $6,000 a year. These also are in actual 
geographic limits; for instance there are three Dis¬ 
trict Courts in Alabama; one in Nevada; two in Cali¬ 
fornia, a Northern and Southern District Court, but 
the Southern one is sub-divided into two divisions 
whose northern part begins with Fresno County, 
Inyo, etc. There are 3 judges for the Northern Dis¬ 
trict. 

Federal courts, in general, have to do with the 
transgression or defining of United States laws, e. g., 
acts which violate the Interstate Commerce Law, the 
great trust cases, great railroad cases, etc. The 
government’s case against the Beef Trust is being 
prosecuted in a District Court of Illinois, and that 
against the Steel Trust in a District Court of New 
Jersey. From these courts the cases may be appealed 
to the Circuit Courts of Appeals and thence to the 
Supreme Court. But a recent enactment for expedit¬ 
ing matters of such large general importance has 
provided that, by “the power of certification,” the 
Circuit Court of Appeals may pass the case up 
directly to the Supreme Court. 



The Federal Judiciary 


21 


Besides tlie foregoing, there are at Washington 
the following courts whose names sufficiently explain 
them; A Court of Customs Appeals (created in 1909 
under the Tariff Act). 

A Court of Claims—for claims against the govern¬ 
ment and therefore requiring Federal jurisdiction— 
established 1855. 

A Court of Commerce, created to review the action 
of the Interstate Commerce Commission—in which, 
for instance, the case so important to California, 
of the “back haul” of the railroads for freight to tide 
water, is now being tried and can be followed with 
interest in the San Francisco papers. There is a 
dissatisfaction with the reversal by this Court of 
the decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commis¬ 
sion ; and some Senators have expressed their inten¬ 
tion of introducing a bill to abolish the Court of Com¬ 
merce which has been in existence a little over a year. 


The 

District 

Courts 

(Continued) 



THE 


STATE OF CALIFORNIA 


The State Executive 


23 


THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. 

The Governor of California, Hiram W. Johnson, The 
receives $10,000 a year and the Lieutenant Governor, Executive 
Albert J. Wallace, $4,000. The following officers Depart- 
may be included with the executive, although not ment 


being appointed by the Governor: 

Secretary of State—Frank C. Jordan.$5,000 

(Whose duties are to gather and report statistics, take 
charge of laws and documents, act as secretary to 
certain boards, etc.) 

Controller is, so to speak, the State Auditor—A. B. Nye... 5,000 

Treasurer—W. R. Williams. 5,000 

Attorney General—Ulysses S. Webb.. 6,000 

(Whose duties are to appear for the State in civil and 
criminal cases, to act as legal adviser to the Gov¬ 
ernor, etc.) 

Surveyor General—Wm. S. Kingsbury. 5,000 

Superintendent of Public Instruction—Edward Hyatt... 5,000 
And various Boards and Departments. 


The Governor and all these officers are elected at 
the general election every four years, viz., the first 
Monday after the first Tuesday in November; and 
the Primary Law of 1911 applies to all state as well 
as municipal elections; therefore if they get a major¬ 
ity vote, i. e., a vote of more than the sum of the 
votes for all the other candidates for that office, they 
become elected at the Primary and need not be voted 
for again at the ensuing election. The next general 
election will be held November, 1912. 

The Governor’s duties include the ordering out The 
of State militia in case of riots or great disturbances Governor 
in strikes, as well as a general supervision of the 
different departments of state. The newly elected 
State Board of Control has enabled the executive to 
show up the frauds which resulted in the resig- 







24 


The Voter's Hand-Book 


The 

Governor 

(Continued) 


State 

Senate 


nation of the State Printer. As the state officials 
are, at present, in no sense a cabinet to the Governor, 
being elected by the people, there is no formal 
administrative aim common to the executive and 
the general departments; where formal policy is 
not concerned but merely unity of aim, offices 
may safely be appointive. It is thought that to 
make these offices appointive would probably make 
for unity and efficiency by giving the Governor more 
power and responsibility. The Governor has a veto 
power over the legislature, except when a bill is 
passed by a majority of two-thirds of each House. 

THE STATE LEGISLATURE. 

The Senate and Assembly taken together are called 
the Legislature, and both houses are chosen by popu¬ 
lar election at the general state elections. The state 
is divided into 40 senatorial district (see map) and 
half of the senators are elected each time, thus, as 
in the National Legislature, securing a continuity 
of policy by introducing at each session only 20 new 
members. Their term is 4 years and their salary 
$1,000 per session and mileage. 

One of the most important offices of the State Leg¬ 
islature is choosing the two U. S. Senators who shall 
represent their state in Washington. It is through 
the control of state legislatures by “big business” 
such as the railroads and other public corporations 
that corruption has crept into the National Senate, 
and the endeavor to pass an amendment to the U. S. 
Constitution which would make Senators elective by 
popular vote, is the result of this state of things and 




















Latitude of (qpe Cod 
’Lot. of Rome* Z ' U 


EL NORTE» 
< 


SISKIYOU 


n 


I MODOC 


) 


- 2.1 - 


O I , 

<t) j « 

^ I trinity/ 

7 I 


SHASTA 


- 1 _J TEHAMA z'- 


— w/ 


•<-r 


PLUMAS 

X j 


z \ Glenn i butte V/ ■- " 

o •' ^ » ./'i SIERRA 

9 /4 • ;-V> ' NEVADA 

§ i ^-.COLUSA^ -cV / s -a 

V-AKEV /-r-./lc^ '* 


Map-» 

-—Of - 

Senatorial Districts 


— Of — 


* (^aliforr^ia. 


* 


Under Apportionment of 1900 

(When the new apportionments are 
made the Voter's Hand-Book will 
contain the new maps.) 


Lot Richmond lwkJS c P?! rR * C0ST * ■f> 1 
SANFRANCISC0O\ii..- 

i?-25 


K / TUOLUMNE 


-.J ; . nuNU \ 

LUWEBAi^ / '-‘' J *tf>\ X. 10 \ 

.TsTt ! / < MARIPOSA y ; X 

\n.-S' /\— 

y\ ^ k 

V'^C FRESNO 

TULARE »• 


‘XIV 

<JL L. 

<g> I-. 

<to S * 

lx -1 


I N VO 


30 


Pt.O^ets » 
Pt. Concepcion 


•VENTUfi 


1 


Uos ANGELES 

37-38 ; 

fo£\ 

V 39 


SAN BERNARDINO 

30 


_ _ 


, RIVERSIDE 

K.-,- 4 

40) 


33° n j 7 X 

La/. Charleston 5. C 


IMPERIAL 








The State Senate 


25 


of such scandals as the long drawn out trial of Sena¬ 
tor Lorimer of Illinois. California and Oregon both 
have laws now which insure a popular choice of 
their Senators, by the advisory vote. (See map of 
Senatorial Districts under apportionment of 1900— 
New apportionment to be made by the Legislature, 
1911.) 

Following are Senators elected November 8th, 


1910: 




Senatorial District 

Second . 

.. T. W. H. Shanahan. 

.Dem. 

Redding 

Fourth.. 

... J. B. Sanford. 

.Dem. 

Ukiah 

Sixth.. 

... A. E. Boynton. 

.Rep. 

Oroville 

Eighth .. 


.Dem. 

Santa Rosa 

Tenth . 

... A. Caminetti. 

.Dem. 

Jackson 

Twelfth.. 


Dem. 

Sonora 

Fourteenth . 


.Rep. 

F'ruitvale 

Sixteenth.. 

...Edward J. Tyrrell.. 

.Rep. 

Oakland 

Eighteenth . 

.. . Dan. P. Regan. 

.Rep. 

San Francisco 

Twentieth . 

.. .Ed. F. Bryant. 

.Rep. 

San Francisco 

Twenty-second .. . 


.Rep. 

San Francisco 

Twenty-fourth .. . 

. . . Dominick J. Beban. 

.Rep. 

San Francisco 

Twenty-sixth .... 


.Dem. 

Fresno 

Twenty-eighth .. . 


.Rep. 

Palo Alto 

Thirtieth. 


.Rep. 

Redlands 

Thirty-second .... 

.. .E. 0. Larkins. 

.Rep. 

Visalia 

Thirty-fourth . .. 


.Rep. 

Los Angeles 

Thirty-sixth. 

. ..Chas. W. Bell.. 

.Rep. 

Pasadena 

Thirty-eighth .... 

... Leslie R. Hewitt.... 

.Rep. 

Los Angeles 

Fourtieth. 


.Rep. 

San Diego 


The Lieutenant Governor, like the Vice-President, 
is ex officio president of the Senate; but his duties 
are often delegated to a President pro tern. The 
President of the Senate pro tern is State Senator 
Boynton. 

The alternate members of the Senate, who were 
voted for in November of 1908 are not listed here 


































26 


The Voter’s Hand-Book 


State 

Senate 

(Continued) 


The 

Assembly 


The 

Supreme 

Court 


because their term of office expires next year, and 
half of the Senate will be re-elected, together with 
all of the Assemblymen, at the general election in 
1912. Their districts are, of course, in the alternate 
numbers, as First Senatorial District, Third, Fifth, 
etc. For the same reason it is hardly necessary to 
give the names of the members of the Assembly. 

The Assembly is composed of 80 members chosen 
from each of the 80 Assembly Districts in the state 
at the general election. Their term of office is 2 years. 
Though the state is divided as nearly as possible 
according to population, that of California, having 
nearly doubled since 1900, a new apportionment is to 
be made in 1912. Assemblymen also receive $1,000 
for each regular session and mileage. (See Map.) 


THE STATE JUDICIARY. 

The State Judiciary consists of: (1) The Supreme 
Court; (2) The District Courts of Appeals; (3) The 
Superior Courts; (4) The Justices of the Peace 
Courts. 

The location of the Supreme Court in San Fran¬ 
cisco is in the Wells Fargo & Co. Express Building, 
southeast corner Second and Mission Streets. There 
is a Chief Justice and 6 associate justices, all elected 
for 12 years, but rotating in office: 

Chief Justice. 

W. H. Beatty.Sacramento .Jan., 1915. $8,000 





Latitude of Cqpa Cod 
'Lot, of Rome^ N 


Assembly Districts 

— OF — 

* (^ fori * ia * * 

Under Apportionment of 1900 

(When the new apportionments are 
made the Voter s Hand-Book will 
contain the new maps.) 


Lad Richmond 

SAN FRANCISCO'*' 

28 A r 



Pt. Oryue/s 

Pt.Concepcion 


33° N 

Laf. Charleston. 5. C- 


2pe/~ 




















The State Judiciary 


27 


Justices. 


F. W. Henshaw.. 

.Oakland. 

..Jan., 1919. 

8,000 

M. C. Sloss. 


. .Jan., 1923. 

8,000 

F. M. Angelotti. 

.San Rafael. 

. .Jan., 1915. 

8,000 

Lucien Shaw. 

.Los Angeles.. . . 

. .Jan., 1915. 

8,000 

W. G. Lorrigan. 



8,000 

Henry A. Melvin. ... 

.Oakland. 

. .Jan., 1923. 

8,000 


The Attorney General is U. S. Webb, Humboldt Bank Bldg. 6,000 

The three State District Courts of Appeals are: 
The First (or San Francisco) District includes San 
Francisco County, Alameda County, etc., as far south 
and inclusive of Santa Cruz and inclusive northward 
of Sonoma County. 

The Second (or Los Angeles) District includes 
Inyo County, Kern, etc., southward. 

The Third (or Sacramento) District includes 
Placer County, San Joaquin, Merced, etc., northward. 

Justices of First District. 

Thomas J. Lennon of San Rafael. .. .Presiding Term ends 1915 

S. P. Hall of Oakland.Term ends 1915 

Frank P. Kerrigan of San Francisco.Term ends 1919 

Justices of Second District. 

M. T. Allen of Los Angeles.Presiding Term ends 1915 

V. E. Shaw of Los Angeles.Term ends 1919 

W. P. James of Los Angeles.Term ends 1919 

Justices of Third District. 

N. P. Chapman of Red Bluff.Presiding Term ends 1919 

E. C. Hart of Sacramento.Term ends 1915 

Albert G. Burnett of Santa Rosa.Term ends 1919 

Their salaries are $7,000 per annum. 

There is a Superior Court in every county of the 
State (58), and as many judges as the population of 
the county warrants, e. g., San Francisco County has 
12; Alameda County 6. 

The Superior Courts receive all the cases that come 
up for consideration in California except (1) Those 


The 
District 
Courts of 
Appeals 


The 

Superior 

Court 






















28 


The Voter’s Hand-Book 


The 

Superior 

Court 

(Continued) 


that go properly to the Federal Courts; (2) Those 
that go to the Police Court, such as minor criminal 
cases; and (3) Those that go to the Justices of the 
Peace Courts, such as minor civil cases, hut cases can 
be appealed to the Appellate Courts for review after 
they have passed through the lower courts. The 
Supreme, District and Superior Courts are the only 
courts of record (i. e., their proceedings, reported by 
the court stenographer are kept on file, and could be 
at any time used for reference). 

The Justice of the Peace Courts are really a town¬ 
ship court; cases not involving more than $300 can 
be tried in them, but a fee can be asked by the justice, 
and this has been thought to prejudice judgment. 
Wherever the defendant has money enough he is apt 
to appeal to the Superior Courts, and for this, and 
also for reasons of economy, the last legislature 
abolished these courts, but present incumbents will 
retain office till their term expires and the Legisla¬ 
ture arranges other inferior courts. 

The Police Courts being city courts are not ex¬ 
plained here. 

THE BOARD OF CONTROL. 

The State Board of Control consists of three mem¬ 
bers, appointed by the Governor, to serve at his 
pleasure at a salary of $4,000 a year. They are: 
James A. Johnstone, John F. Neylan and Clyde 
Seavey. They must execute a bond for $25,000, and 
must work daily except on holidays from 9 to 5. They 
have general powers of supervision on all matters 
concerning the financial and business policies of the 



Board of Equalization 


29 


State; they have the same powers as the State Board 
of Examiners, and they have under them a hoard of 
public accounting, which latter must install a uniform 
system immediately for all the public accounts of 
the State. The State Board of Control must examine 
and expert the books of the State prisons, reforma¬ 
tories, State hospitals, etc., and the commissions, 
bureaus and offices of the State, at least once a year; 
also it must visit the State institutions and public 
buildings in course of construction and report 
thereon. The money in the State treasury must be 
counted by the Board of Control at least once every 
month, and it must file a report showing the amount 
of money that ought to be in the State treasury, and 
the amount of money and credit that is actually 
there. The Board must biennially report to the Legis¬ 
lature a history of its transactions and investigations. 
(Taken from the report of the State Legislature, 39th 
Session.) 

STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION. 

In each county the Supervisors sit as a board of 
equalization for the purpose of making equal and 
fair assessment of taxes, and to whom reference 
can be made from the decision of the county 
assessor in case an owner feels his property un¬ 
fairly valued in the annual taxation. The State 
Board of Equalization is to equalize whatever 
inequalities of assessment there may be between 
counties throughout the State. It is therefore an 
important board which, in a way, controls the source 



30 


The Voter’s Hand-Book 


of income for the general public expenditure. Fol¬ 
lowing are the officers of the State Board of Equaliza¬ 


tion: 

Elected 

1st Dist. Joseph Henry Scott of San Francisco.Nov., 1906 

2ndDist. Alexander Brown of Calaveras Co.Nov., 1906 

3rd Dist. R. E. Collins of Redding.Nov., 1906 

4th Dist. Jeff McElvaine of San Bernardino.Nov., 1906 


The State Controller, A. B. Nye, is ex officio member of the 
State Board of Equalization. 

THE STATE RAILROAD COMMISSION. 

The Railroad Commission had been in existence 
for many years, hut its work was nugatory. By the 
new Amendment to the Constitution, the members 
of the Commission are increased to 5, and they are 
appointed by the Governor to serve 6 years; how¬ 
ever, the commissioners already in office will serve 
out their term, and of those appointed their terms 
shall expire as follows: One on January 1, 1917; 
two on January 1, 1919, and two on January 1, 1921. 
They have the power to establish rates for charges 
of transportation of passengers, freight, etc. All 
of this Amendment to the Constitution is con¬ 
strued with the Act of February, 1911. By that 
Act the Railroad Commission’s power was extended 
to take away much of the review power of a 
judicial court over such a Commission. 







Charities and Corrections 


31 


STATE COMMISSION IN LUNACY. 

The State Commission in Lunacy (reorganized in 
1909) consists of the Governor, the Secretary of 
State, the Attorney General, Secretary of State 
Board of Health (William F. Snow, M. D.) and the 
General Superintendent of State Hospitals (F. W. 
Hatch, M. D.). 

The officers of the Commission are: 

F. W. Hatch.Salary $5,000. Term expires Mar., 1913 

(Appointed by the Governor.) 

George Hnestis.Salary $3,000. Term expires Mar., 1913 

(Appointed by the Commission.) 

CALIFORNIA STATE BOARD OF CHARITIES AND 
CORRECTIONS. 

There are 5 State hospitals: Stockton, Napa, 
Agnews (near San Jose), Mendocino (Ukiah), 
Southern California (at Patton, San Bernardino 
Co.). In these there were in the autumn of 1911, not 
quite 5,000 men and nearly 3,000 women. 

There is the Industrial Home for Adult Blind in 
Oakland (22 women and 94 men), and the Deaf and 
Blind Institute at Berkeley. 

The State Home for Feeble Minded in Sonoma has 
534 males and 410 females. 

The State Reform School, Preston, lone, in 
Amador Co., has 393 boys, no girls; the Whittier Re¬ 
form School near Los Angeles has 262 boys, 47 girls. 
There are two State prisons, San Quentin, 831 men, 
26 women; Folsom at Represa, Sacramento Co., 1,137 
men, no women. (None of these figures include those 
out on parole.) 

There are some 50 orphanages throughout the 
State which are however under private management 





32 


The Voter’s Hand-Book 


The 

Executive 
Depart¬ 
ment of 
the City 
and 

County of 
San 

Francisco 


and subscription, but most of them draw money also 
from the State at the rate of $12 a month for a full 
orphan and $6 for a half orphan. 

The above list is here presented because it shows 
at a glance the charitable and penal institutions of 
the State. The women of California, with the right 
to vote, have now a direct responsibility about the 
conducting of these institutions. 

THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO. 

Cities in general, being in a county, are likely to be 
the county seat and have, therefore, all the county 
offices, such as sheriff, auditor, tax collector, etc. 
For the purposes of this book, however, San Fran¬ 
cisco and not United States cities in general will be 
considered here. 

As the city limits of the City and County of San 
Francisco coincide exactly, San Francisco has a 
double county and city government with the Mayor 
at the head. All of its officers are elected at the gen¬ 
eral municipal elections held every four years begin¬ 
ning November, 1911, and go into office January 8, 
1912; and the primary law applies in San Francisco. 

Mayor—James Rolph, Jr.salary $6,000 

County Clerk—Harry L. Mulcrevy. “ 4,000 

Auditor—Thos. F. Boyle. “ 4,000 

District Attorney—C. M. Fickert. “ 5,000 

Sheriff—Fred. Eggers. “ 8,000 

(The office of the Sheriff with emoluments amounts to about 
$15,000, and is the most lucrative office in the gift of the city) 

Coroner—Thos. D. Leland.salary 4,000 

Following are the nine Supervisors who, receiving more votes than the other 
nine, will retain office for four years. Each Supervisor’s salary is $2,400 a year. 


The 

Executive 
Depart¬ 
ment of 
the City 
and 

County of 
San 

Francisco 


William H. McCarthy 
Oscar Hocks 
Paul Bancroft 
J. Emmett Hayden 
George E. Gallagher 


Henry Payot 
Chas. A. Murdock 
Thos. Jennings 
Alex. T. Vogelsang 









San Francisco 


33 


Following are the Supervisors and officers who serve for two years: 

Supervisors 

Fred L. Hilmer Byron Mauzy 

Andrew J. Gallagher Edward L. Nolan 

Adolf Koshland Guido E. Caglieri 

Daniel C. Murphy Ralph McLeran 

Jas. Blaine Bocarde (deceased) 

Tax Collector—David Bush.salary $4,000 

Recorder—Edmund Godchaux. “ 3,600 

City Attorney—Percy W. Long. “ 5,000 

Public Administrator—M. J. Hynes. Fees 

Treasurer—John E. McDougald. “ 4,000 

In the above list, the first group with half the 
Supervisors will serve for four years; the second 
group for two years only. But those elected to suc¬ 
ceed this second group will serve for four years, and 
always thereafter all city officers will serve for four 
years, but elected in alternation every two years. 

The City Attorney is legal adviser to the Mayor. 
The District Attorney is really a county officer. Sal¬ 
ary $5000. He has in San Francisco 7 assistant dis¬ 
trict attorneys at salaries of $3,600 each. His office 
must always be represented in the Police Courts. 
The Public Administrator, the County Clerk and 
the Sheriff complete this department. 

The Board of Supervisors, 18 in number, is the 
legislature of the city. The laws that it enacts are 
called ordinances, and require the Mayor’s signature. 
The rotation in office, only half of the Board being 
elected at one time, insures that continuity of policy 
which has been found generally necessary in all legis¬ 
lative government. 

In addition to the foregoing there is, in San Fran¬ 
cisco, a department of public works which has 3 com¬ 
missioners who constitute the Board of Public 
Works. It is their duty to see to the streets, pipes, 


Legal 

Depart¬ 

ment 


Legislative 

Depart¬ 

ment 


Board of 

Public 

Works 








34 


The Voter's Hand-Book 


Board of 
Education 


Police 

Depart¬ 

ment 


Fire 

Depart¬ 

ment 


wires, sewers, drainage, cleaning, lighting, sprinkling, 
etc.; also to the construction of public buildings; and 
they have a city engineer in their department. Their 
salary is $4,000 a year each. 

The Board of Education is composed of 4 school 
directors appointed by the Mayor at a salary of 
$3,000 each. The Board must never have more than 
two members of the same political party. It estab¬ 
lishes and maintains public schools, employs, pro¬ 
motes and dismisses teachers, etc. The Superintend¬ 
ent of Schools is elected, he must be a member of the 
Board of Education, but without the right to vote. 
His salary is $4,000. 

A Board of Police Commissioners, a Chief of 
Police, a Police Force, make up the police depart¬ 
ment. All members except the chief hold office dur¬ 
ing good behavior. The four police commissioners 
are appointed by the Mayor at an annual salary of 
$1,200. Of this board of commissioners no more than 
two members shall ever be of the same political party. 
The sessions of the board are public, except that 
executive sessions may be held whenever it is deemed 
proper by the board. It appoints, promotes, suspends 
or dismisses any member of the department according 
to its rules and regulations. 

The Chief of Police appointed by the Board of 
Police Commissioners holds office for four years. He 
is the chief executive officer of the department. 

The fire department is under a board of four com¬ 
missioners appointed by the Mayor at a salary of 
$1,200 each, and no more than two may ever be of 



Oakland 


35 


the same political party. The commissioners see that 
the officers and members faithfully discharge their 
duties, make rules and regulations, employ and dis¬ 
miss firemen, etc. 

There are, in addition to the foregoing, the depart¬ 
ments of: Public Health; of Elections; Civil Ser¬ 
vice Commissioners; Playground Commissioners; 
Park Commissioners, and some miscellaneous offices. 

THE CITY OF OAKLAND. 

In Oakland the municipal election is held on the 
third Tuesday in April, 1911, and will he held on 
the same date in 1913, and biennially thereafter. 
This is called the nominating election; a second elec¬ 
tion, held on the third Tuesday after said nominat¬ 
ing election, is called the general municipal election. 
Oakland, on July 1, 1911, adopted the commission 
form of government. 

(Term 4 years.) 

The Mayor—Frank K. Mott. 

(1) Com. of Pub. Safety—F. C. Turner. 

(2) Com. of Rev. and Finance—John Forrest... 

(3) Com. of Pub. Works—IP. S. Anderson. 

(4) Com. of Streets—W. J. Baccus. 

City Auditor and Assessor—Geo. E. Gross. 

(Elected.) 

Tax Collector and Treasurer—Edwin Meese. 

(Appointed by the Com. of Rev. and Finance.) 

School Directors: 

(1) M. R. Bronner 

(2) Harry L. Boyle 

(3) Miss A. F. Brown 

(4) F. B. Cook 

(5) C. M. Orr 

(6) A. S. Kelly 


The School Directors are allowed 
$10 for each regular meeting, but 
not to exceed four meetings per 
month. 


Salary ^he 

$4,000 Executive 
3,600 of 
3,600 Oakland 
3,600 
3,600 
3,600 

3,600 










36 


The Voter’s Hand-Book 


The 

Executive 

of 

Alameda 

County 


The 

Judiciary 

of 

Alameda 

County 


The Superintendent of Schools is secretary of the 
Board, and is appointed Superintendent by the 
Board. The Commissioner of Revenue and Finance 
is ex officio a member of the Board. 

All the foregoing officials are elected for a term of 
4 years, but for this first term of the new charter, 
the Mayor and Commissioners (1) and (2) will 
serve 4 years, and the Auditor and Commissioners 
(3) and (4), only 2 years; afterwards all will serve 
4 years, but half will thus be elected at one time. 

The City Attorney (adviser to the council) is 
Benj. J. Woolner; term 4 years. Salary, $5,000. 

In the County of Alameda there are 10 municipali¬ 
ties: Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Albany, Pied¬ 
mont, Emeryville, San Leandro, Hayward, Pleas¬ 
anton and Livermore, each with its own governing 


body. 

Salary 

The Sheriff—Frank Barnett.$4,000 

The Auditor—E. F. Garrison. 3,600 

Tax Collector—Jas. B. Barber. 4,000 

Assessor—C. F. Horner. 7,000 

Treasurer—M. J. Kelly. 4,000 

County Recorder—G. M. Bacon. 4,000 

County Surveyor—P. A. Haviland.Fees and 4,000 


The judiciary consists of the Superior Court, 
which, in Alameda County, has 6 judges; and the 
Justices of the Peace courts. The Police courts, as 
has been stated before, are city courts. 


The legal officers are: 

Salary 

The District Attorney—¥m. H. Donahue.$4,000 

The Public Administrator—H. B. Mehrmann. Fees 

The County Clerk—John P. Cook. 4,000 

The Coroner—C. L. Tisdale. 4,000 














Berkeley 


37 


Jurors in Alameda County are paid $3.00 a day 
and mileage, where, in San Francisco, they receive 
but $2.00—the difference being due to the great 
extent of the county limits where jurors are some¬ 
times summoned to serve from the other end of the 
county. 

There are 5 Supervisors, who receive $225 a month 
each: 

J. D. Murphy J. M. Kelly John F. Mullins 

W. B. Bridge T. M. Foss 

The County Superintendent of Schools is Geo. W. Frick, 
salary, $4,000. 

THE CITY OF BERKELEY. 

Berkeley has the most perfect form of commission 
government of any city in California. There the 
executive and administrative departments are 
divided among five officers: 

(1) Public affairs, the Mayor. 

(2) Revenue and Finance, under the Commis¬ 

sioner of Revenue and Finance. 

(3) Public Health and Safety, under the Com¬ 

missioner of Public Health and Safety. 

(4) Public Works, under the Commissioner of 

Public Works. 

(5) Streets, under the Commissioner of Streets. 

The Mayor and these four commissioners or coun- 

cilmen together form the City Council of five mem¬ 
bers. 

In addition there are four school directors; and the 
Board of Education consists of the four school 
directors and the councilman, or commissioner, of 
revenue and finance. 


The 

Legislative 
Depart¬ 
ment of 
Alameda 
County 



38 


The Voter's Hand-Book 


There are in addition: the City Attorney (appoint¬ 
ed by the Mayor) ; the Treasurer, who is also the Tax 
Collector (appointed by the Commissioner of 
Finance) ; the Chief Engineer (appointed by the 
Commissioner of Public Works) ; Chief of Police, 
Chief of Fire Department, Health Officer, Superin¬ 
tendent of Electrical Department (all appointed by 
the Commissioner of Public Health and Safety) ; and 
a Street Superintendent (appointed by the Commis¬ 
sioner of Streets). 

The extreme simplicity of this arrangement, and 
its concentration of responsibility in the hands of the 
City Council, are considered features of exceptional 
merit in insuring a careful and responsible city gov¬ 
ernment in small municipalities. 



Los Angeles 


39 


THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES. 

The general municipal elections are held in Los 
Angeles on the first Tuesday of December of every 
odd numbered year, beginning with 1911; and the 
primary election takes place on the last Tuesday of 
October, 1911, and biennially thereafter. 

Following are the officers of the city—those in 
heavy type are elective by the electors of the city of 
Los Angeles at large: 

Mayor 

Nine councilmen 

City clerk 
City treasurer 

City auditor 

City tax and license collector 

City school superintendent (appointed by the board of 
education) 

Seven members of the board of education 

Five directors of the Los Angeles public library 

City assessor 

City engineer 

City attorney 

City prosecutor 

Three police commissioners 

Chief of police 

Three fire commissioners 

Chief engineer of the fire department 

Health commissioner 

Five public service commissioners 

Chief engineer of water works 

Electrical engineer 

Three park commissioners 

Three commissioners of public works 

Secretary of the board of public works 

Purchasing agent 

Three commissioners of public utilities 
Three harbor commissioners 
Five playground commissioners 
Nine municipal art commissioners 



40 


The Voter’s Hand-Book 


In the above list those not otherwise specified are 
appointed by the Mayor. The city officers hold office 
for four years; but the terms of office for the Mayor, 
City Attorney, the 4 members of the City Council, 
and the 3 members of the Board of Education 
receiving the lowest number of votes at the general 
municipal election, respectively, shall expire on the 
first Monday in January, 1914. After that their suc¬ 
cessors in office shall serve for four years, and there 
will thus be an alternate election of half the chief 
officers of the city every two years. 



County Government 


41 


COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 

The executive departments of every county are 
each independent of every other. 

The Sheriff, the Auditor, the Tax Collector and 
Assessor (frequently merged in one office when the 
county is small), and the County Clerk, are the chief 
executive officers. 

The Board of Supervisors of a county is its legis¬ 
lature, that is, it makes the necessary laws and ordi¬ 
nances for that locality apart, of course, from the 
regular State laws. 

Every county has a Superior Court. In addition 
to this there are the Justices’ Court for civil suits of 
less than $300 in amount and for minor criminal 
matters. All trials are appealable from the Justice 
of the Peace Courts to the Superior Court. The 
Justices’ Courts are really the people’s court for 
small matters, but see page 25. There is a District 
Attorney for every county. 

In addition there are the school districts and school 
trustees, and the road overseers who are under the 
Supervisors. 

Recent amendment of the constitution has enabled 
the county to adopt a charter of its own and to devise 
for itself such regulations as the law permits. 



42 


The Voter’s Hand-Book 


The 

Initiative 


The 

Referen¬ 

dum 


THE INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM. 

(Senate Constitutional Amendment No. 22.) 

The State Legislature passed, with a two-thirds 
majority last spring, 23 amendments to the Constitu¬ 
tion, and in order to become incorporated into the 
Constitution of the State these were put up to popu¬ 
lar election on the lOtli of last October. Except the 
amendment permitting women to vote, the most im¬ 
portant of these 23 amendments were those that dealt 
with the Initiative, Referendum and Recall. There¬ 
fore these have been singled out for brief explanation, 
having been passed by the people of the State by a 
large majority. 

The power of initiative is accorded to the peo¬ 
ple at large upon the presentation of a petition to 
the Secretary of State certified to have been signed 
by 8 per cent of the electors, i. e., 8 per cent of all 
the votes cast for all candidates for Governor at the 
last preceding general election. This gives the people 
power to control legislation of the State, and reserves 
to the people the power to enact laws which the Legis¬ 
lature may have refused or neglected to enact, and 
it enables the people to propose constitutional amend¬ 
ments for adoption. 

The Referendum enables the people to require any 
act of the Legislature (except those elections provid¬ 
ing for tax levies and urgency measures passed by 
a two-thirds vote of both houses) to be submitted to 
the people for their approval or rejection at the next 
general election. This gives the people the power to 



The Recall 


43 


arrest or prevent tlie taking effect of vicious or 
objectionable acts of tlie Legislature. 

Eight states of our own country, beginning in 1902, 
have made the Initiative and Referendum an integral 
part of their frame work of government. Of the 
cities of California, San Francisco has had it since 
1900 and Los Angeles since 1903, and Oakland incor¬ 
porated it into their charters in 1910. Berkeley and 
San Diego had done the same prior to 1910. It is 
not intended and will not be a substitute for legisla¬ 
tion, but will constitute that safeguard which the 
people should retain for themselves, and will help 
them to hold the Legislature in check and veto or 
negative such measures as it may negligently or 
viciously enact. 

THE RECALL. 

The Recall makes it possible for the people to 
remove from office every elective public officer of the 
State of California, and to vote for a successor to 
such officer in the manner herein provided for: 

A petition signed by electors equal in number to 
at least 12 per cent of the entire vote cast at the last 
preceding election for all candidates for the office 
which said officer occupies, demanding an election of 
a successor in said petition, shall be addressed to the 
Secretary of State and filed with the clerk or reg¬ 
istrar of voters of the city or county in which the 
petition was circulated. 

By its provisions this act enables about 46,000 
voters (12 per cent of the vote cast at the last election 
for Governor, but however, if women vote as numer- 


The 

Refer¬ 

endum 



44 


The Voter’s Hand-Book 


ously as men do, it can easily be seen that the number 
of voters being doubled, 12 per cent of the voting 
population will hereafter mean more than 80,000 
voters) to require a public servant who has held his 
office at least 6 months, to submit the question of his 
continuance in office, if his stewardship is held un¬ 
satisfactory, to a vote of the electors. If a majority 
of the said electors vote for his recall he is retired. 
A 20 per cent instead of a 12 per cent petition is re¬ 
quired to institute recall proceedings against a State 
officer elected from a district of the State. 

This power to remove dishonest or incapable 
servants, is a power which has not been greatly ques¬ 
tioned except as relates to the judiciary. But judges, 
especially those of the Supreme Court, by construing 
the acts of the Legislature, perform acts of legislation 
as truly as does the Legislature. Yet the objection 
to the recall is that judges’ decisions depend upon a 
knowledge of the laws, and the people have not this 
special knowledge which would qualify them to decide 
as to the recall of judges. The reply of the people 
of this State seems to have been that Democracy 
means the control by the people of all their servants, 
and the judiciary are also like other public officers, 
their servants. 



Thirteenth Census 


45 


NOTES FROM THE THIRTEENTH CENSUS OF THE 
UNITED STATES, 1910 


Population of California 




Per cent 



increase 

1890 

1,213,398 


1900 

1,485,053 

22.4 

1910 

2,377,549 

60.1 


In the decade for 1900-1910, the average increase 
of population for continental United States is 21.0 
per cent. 



Per cent. 



Increase 

Population 


since 1900 

in 1900 

For San Francisco. 

. 21.6 

416,912 

For Los Angeles. 

. 211.5 

319,198 

For Oakland. 

. 124.3 

150,174 

For Berkeley. 

. 206.0 

40,434 

For Sacramento . 

. 52.6 

44,696 

For Pasadena . 

. 232.2 

30,291 

For San Jose. 

. 34.6 

28,946 


These are the largest cities in California, only three 
of them having a population of over 100,000. There 
are 58 counties in California, where population 
ranges from 309 in Alpine County to 504,131 in Los 
Angeles County. The average number of persons to 
the square mile for continental United States as a 
whole in 1910 was 30.9; for California it was 15.3. 















46 


The Voter's Hand-Book 


THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

In Congress, July 4th, 1776. 

The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States 
of America. 

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary 
for one people to dissolve the political bands which have con¬ 
nected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of 
the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of 
nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to 
the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the 
causes which impel them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are 
created equal; that they are endowed, by their Creator, with 
certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and 
the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, govern¬ 
ments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers 
from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of 
government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of 
the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new govern¬ 
ment, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing 
its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to 
affect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate 
that governments long established should not be changed for 
light and transient causes; and accordingly, all experience hath 
shown that mankind are more disposed to suber while evils are 
sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to 
which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses 
and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a 
design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, 
it is their duty to throw off such government, and to provide 
new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient 
sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which 
constrains them to alter their former systems of government. 
4 he history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of 
repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the 




Declaration of Independence 


47 


establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove 
this, let facts be submitted to a candid world. 

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and 
necessary for the public good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate 
and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation, 
till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has 
utterly neglected to attend to them. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of 
large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish 
the right of representation in the legislature—a right inestimable 
to them, and formidable to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, 
uncomfortable, and distant from the repository of their public 
records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance 
with his measures. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for oppos¬ 
ing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people. 

He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to 
cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, 
incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large 
for their exercise, the state remaining, in the meantime, exposed 
to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions 
within. 

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; 
for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of 
foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration 
hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing 
his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure 
of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither 
swarms of officers, to harass our people, and eat out their sub¬ 
stance. 




The Voter's Hand-Book 


48 


He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, 
without the consent of our legislatures. 

He has affected to render the military independent of, and 
superior to, the civil power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction 
foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; 
giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation : 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: 

For protecting them, by a mock trial from punishment for 
any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of 
these states: 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world: 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent: 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by 
jury: 

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended 
offenses: 

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighbor¬ 
ing province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and 
enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example 
and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into 
these colonies: 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable 
laws, and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our government: 

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves 
invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated government here by declaring us out of his 
protection, and waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our 
towns and destroyed the lives of our people. 

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mer¬ 
cenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny 
already begun, with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely 
paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the 
head of a civilized nation. 




Declaration op Independence 


49 


He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the 
high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the 
executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves 
by their hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections among us, and has 
endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the 
merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an 
undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. 

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for 
redress in the most humble terms; our repeated petitions have 
been answered only by repeated injury. A prince whose char¬ 
acter is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant 
is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. 
We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their 
legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We 
have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and 
settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and 
magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our 
common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would 
inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They, 
too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and consanguinity. 
We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces 
our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, 
enemies in war, in peace, friends. 

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of 
America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the 
Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, 
do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these 
colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these United Colonies 
are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States; that 
they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and 
that all political connection between them and the State of Great 
Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that, as free 
and independent States, they have full power to levy war, con¬ 
clude peace, contract alliance, establish commerce, and to do all 



50 


The Voter’s Hand-Book 


other acts and things which independent States may of right do. 
And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on 
the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each 
other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. 

Signed by order and in behalf of the Congress. 

John Hancock, President. 

Attested, Charles Thompson, Secretary. 

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Preamble. 

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more 
perfect union, establish justicej insure domestic tranquility, 
provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, 
and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, 
do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States 
of America. 


SYNOPSIS. 

Article I. 

This Article, with 10 sections, deals with the 
Legislative Department, of which a brief summary 
has been already given in this book in the pages on 
“The National Senate and The House.” 

Article II. 

This Article deals with the Executive Depart¬ 
ment—the President. 

Article III. 

This Article explains the Federal Judiciary. 

Article IV. 

Miscellaneous provisions dealing with the admis¬ 
sion of new States into the Union, etc. 



Constitutional Amendments 


51 


Article Y. 

It requires a two-thirds vote of both houses to 
amend the Constitution. 

Article YI. 

The Federal Constitution—the supreme law of 
the land, and the judges of every State bound 
thereby, etc. 

Article YII. 

The ratification of 9 States for the establishment 
of this Constitution, etc., signed “George Washing¬ 
ton, President and Deputy from Virginia.” 

The foregoing is a full synopsis of the Constitu¬ 
tion of the United States, which contains only 7 
Articles. Following is a full synopsis of the Amend¬ 
ments of that Constitution, of which there are 15: 

Amendment I. 

Guaranteeing freedom of religion, of the press, 
and of the right to petition the Government. 

Amendment II. 

Regarding the right of State militias. 

Amendment III. 

No soldier may be quartered in any house in time 
of peace, without the owner’s consent. 

Amendment IV. 

Right of freedom from seizure or search. 

Amendment Y. 

Freedom from second trial for same offense, and 
from self-incrimination, and from confiscation of 
property. 



52 


The Voter’s Hand-Book 


Amendment YI. 

Right to a speedy trial by jury and to have assist¬ 
ance of counsel. 

Amendment VII. 

Right to trial by jury where value shall ex¬ 
ceed $20. 

Amendment YIII. 

Excessive bail and excessive punishment pro¬ 
hibited. 

Amendment IX. 

Certain rights given in the Constitution shall not 
deny or disparage any other rights retained by the 
people. 

Amendment X. 

The powers not delegated to the United States by 
the Constitution are reserved to the States. 

Amendment XI. 

The Federal Judicial power shall not be con¬ 
strued to extend to any suit in law commenced against 
one of the United States by citizens of another State, 
or by citizens of any foreign state. 

Amendment XII. 

The Yice-President shall be chosen separately, 
not as formerly by taking the second highest candi¬ 
date for the presidency as vice-president. 

Amendment XIII. 

Section 1. Slavery abolished in the United States. 

Section 2. Congress shall have the power to en¬ 
force this .by appropriate legislation. 



Constitutional Amendments 


53 


Amendment XIY. 

Giving former slaves the right to citizenship and 
equal protection of the laws. 

Sections 2 and 3 refer to apportionment, etc., 
and exclude rebels from holding Federal office. 

Section 4 refers to the public debt, and refuses 
any claim for emancipation of the slaves or debts 
incurred in fighting against the United States. 

Amendment XV. 

The right of citizens of the United States to vote 
shall not be denied or abridged on account of race 
color or previous condition of servitude. 

The Thirteenth Amendment freed the slaves; the 
Fourteenth gave them the rights of citizenship, and 
the Fifteenth the right of suffrage. 


Bibliography: 

Constitution of the United States. 
Constitution of the State of California. 
Amendments to the State Constitution. 
Bryce’s American Commonwealth. 
Election Laws of California, 1911. 

City Charters. 














JAN 8 1912 































































































































































































































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